Thrity, Thrifty!

A few weeks back I celebrated my birthday with a thrifting trip with my mom. It was a great day with lots of good finds! And it was even National Thrifting Week! How cool is that?

I scored some new attire for the wardrobe and some awesome additions to my decorating stash. 

 At just a buck a piece, these plates are the perfect friends for our (once) lonely kitchen cabinets. The best part is that they weren't a set but all have the same deep earthy colors and complimenting designs. 

Don't mind the spider plant... it will soon find a new home. 

My other fun decorating find: 

I have great plans for these hobnail pedestal vases. I love the different textures of each of them and their milky white color. I'm picturing them making a home on my kitchen windowsill this summer when I can score some healthy herb plants at a local greenhouse. 

Speaking of summer gardening, I'm getting giddy over some of the projects on my summer-to-do list (since it's currently icy and frigid outside and all I can think of is some good ol' sunshine). 

Container gardening! This gem is from Apartment Therapy. Hopefully mine will look as healthy and happy as this.

p.e.a.c.e.  ...   l.a. p.a.z.

Coloring for a Cause

I've been getting back to my childhood roots of designing through the medium of crayons. I used to (and still do) love the smell of opening that tin full of crayons at Grandma's house. Mmm Mmm. Crayons smell like creativity and I like me some creativity! 

Mennonite Central Committee, an organization that shares God's love and compassion in the name of Christ by responding to basic human needs and working for peace and justice. I have many strong connections to MCC and strongly support their mission. They have Material Resource Centers around the country that provide volunteers with a place to do quilting, weaving and packing of kits that are sent all over the world to help those in need. I've recently started volunteering and the one thing I've been enjoying is coloring these patches that are eventually sewed together and knotted into a comforter. 

Here are a few of the patches I colored. 

  You can get involved in helping change the world too... it's as easy as coloring! 

p.e.a.c.e 

The Medium to Capturing and Keeping Memories...

"Sometimes I do get to places just when God's ready to have somebody click the shutter."

~Ansel Adams~

I love it when I look back through the moments I've captured on  digital film ... emotion or beauty frozen in the perfect frame of light. mmm it's my cup of tea. 

If I could name my dream job, it would be traveling all over to preserve the REAL life and community in this world through images. A groom watching his bride walk down the aisle, the tear stained face of one mourning loss, the laugh of a child as she plays, the strength of mothers around the world who fight for survival for their children. In all these things God is present... and my dream job would be capturing these stories through the lens of my camera.

This gets me excited. This evokes passionate determination.

My goal is to do more of this in 2011 and in coming years to find a way to share these picture framed stories. 

p.E.a.C.e.